South Park has fearlessly ripped apart any sensitive topic for over twenty years, so a night like Halloween should make Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny (voiced by creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone) feel right at home. After all, the boys don’t need an excuse to put on a costume, and Cartman would literally murder for candy.
Partly due to scheduling, South Park doesn’t have an annual Halloween episode, and there are new episodes that premiered around October 31st, but didn’t feature the holiday. This, however, doesn't change the fact that South Park has some legendary Halloween episodes that fans love to watch each year. So, with that in mind, these are the South Park episodes ranked from trick to treat.
South Park
Comedy
Animation
- Release Date
- August 13, 1997
- Cast
- Trey Parker , Matt Stone , April Stewart , Mona Marshall
- Main Genre
- Comedy
- Seasons
- 26
- Studio
- Comedy Central
10 "Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers”
Season 17, Episode 4
In a surprising choice, the Goth kids star in an episode exploring the dark, clove-smoke-smelling underworld of South Park. A rehabilitation camp has unexpected results when Goth for Life Henrietta Biggie (voiced by Jessica Makinson) returns from her forced visit as a Sunny Day Real Estate listening emo kid. To uncover the secret of the emo mind control, the remaining goth kids will need to team up with sworn enemies, the vampire kids, and the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe (voiced by Parker). By using their combined forces of melancholy, they learn the horrifying truth about the difference between goth and emo: There isn’t one.
The goth kids-focused episode barely squeaks into the classification of a Halloween episode with a throwaway reference during the vampires' meeting, but otherwise, there’s no mention of the holiday. There are successful examples of episodes that don’t feature the core cast of characters, but this generally isn’t considered one of them. Seeing the different subdivisions of moody South Park kids is fun, but the joke of defining what exactly a poser is doesn’t carry enough mileage to support a full episode. A highlight is the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe, who would rather smoke cigarettes at a diner than help save the world.
9 “Sons a Witches”
Season 21, Episode 6
It’s a week before Halloween, so that can only mean one thing: It’s Witch Party Week for Randy and his fellow bros dressed as witches. While Randy’s coven hits the road for their retreat, Cartman’s frustration with girlfriend Heidi reaches a new peak after he feels she made him late to a pumpkin patch. Back at Witch Week, crack, Jack Daniel's, and a spellbook unleash an evil spirit that possesses Randy’s friend, Chip Duncan. When Chip's possessed body begins to attack the town each night, Eric sees an opportunity to solve his relationship problems. Meanwhile, Randy and his witches work on salvaging their reputation.
The story takes a dark turn when Cartman tries to kill his girlfriend, but maybe it’s necessary every few episodes for Cartman to do something so terrible to remind viewers he can never be redeemed. The witch storyline is an effective mockery of secret organizations with a large reach and silly traditions, but it does feel lacking at the same time. Halloween plays a large role in the story, so it qualifies for a marathon of holiday-themed episodes. However, it won’t take top priority over stronger offerings.
8 “Tegridy Farms Halloween Special”
Season 23, Episode 5
Randy’s excited about the new Halloween special he’s running at Tegridy Farms, but daughter Shelly (voiced by April Stewart) doesn’t share his passion. Meanwhile, Butters’ (voiced by Stone) archaeological adventures at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science become more than he bargained for when an encounter with a cursed exhibit awakens an ancient evil. While Randy brainstorms ways to make Shelly love marijuana, Butters is thrown into a tumultuous relationship with a volatile Mummy. Before Halloween is over, Randy learns a valuable lesson about using his own product and Butters accepts his role in the Mummy’s rampage.
The stoner plot of Randy teaching his daughter the joys of marijuana has high points (pun not intended), such as having Shelly put in jail for destroying his stash, but it tends to miss more than it hits. The Butters' story about managing a toxic relationship with a Mummy is the kind of bizarre series of events that are reminiscent of the first few years of the show. The episode does incorporate Halloween more than say, the “Goth Kids 3,” but the episode would play exactly the same if there was no mention of the holiday.
7 “The Scoots”
Season 22, Episode 5
E-scooters mysteriously pop up around South Park, and the boys see this as an opportunity to hit more houses on Halloween. However, a phone is required to operate the scooter, and since Kenny can’t afford one, his friends tell him he’s on his own this year. Mr. Mackey immediately dislikes the scooters, flying into a rage when he cannot drive without being hit by one. When the other kids of South Park reveal the same plan to use scooters, the adults scramble to prepare enough candy while Mr. Mackey and Kenny look to destroy the scooters at their source.
Sometimes South Park’s talent for lambasting current events also dates the show, and “The Scoots” suffers mildly from that double-edged sword as it pokes fun at the growing trend that was e-scooters. As a pure Halloween adventure, this episode utilizes the holiday well and adds a fun narration device from Kenny that echoes the spirit of the narrator in A Christmas Story. The city of South Park collapses in the face of any threat, and when said threat is costumed children on scooters, the episode has no choice but to be enjoyable.
6 “Night of the Living Homeless”
Season 11, Episode 7
A $20 donation from Kyle attracts a wave of homeless people to South Park in the comedy’s return to zombie parodies. Chanting “change” instead of “brains,” the homeless send residents of the small town to high ground while they plan their next steps. The boys brave the overrun city streets to rescue their trapped parents before their lack of change sends them traveling through the sewer. When the boys learn the truth behind the arrival of their new visitors, they get the key to solving the crisis in South Park.
While not technically a Halloween episode, the execution of the horror parody makes “Night of the Living Homeless” deserve a mention. The interpretation of panhandlers as zombies is well done, with particularly clever references to the Zack Snyder-directed, James Gunn-written, remake of Dawn of the Dead. The satire is top-notch, both as an enjoyable comedy and a scathing commentary on how society views the homeless community.
5 “Spookyfish”
Season 2, Episode 15
Stan’s Aunt Flo arrives for her monthly visit to his mom, and this time she comes bearing gifts. Shelly gets an elaborate sound system and Stan gets a fish with an unsettling stare. A new, nicer, bearded Cartman is a pleasant surprise, but the revelation of Stan’s fish as a murderer sends the boys on an adventure that includes a pet shop built on an Indian burial ground, a portal to an opposite dimension, and a pack of deadly household pets. One final face-off will determine if they keep the Cartman they’ve known all their lives or one they actually like.
The notion that an evil Cartman is a model citizen plays well, and the joke continues to pay off until the episode’s end. The Aunt Flo joke doesn’t quite seem necessary in a story already packed with business, but it doesn’t get in the way either. The episode being broadcast in "Spookyvision," meaning, pictures of Barbra Streisand’s face on screen at all times, is funny if for no other reason, than the commitment to keep it on display for the duration of the episode’s run.
4 “Pinkeye”
Season 1, Episode 7
Kenny’s preparations for Halloween are cut short after the Mir Space Station crushes him, so he’s taken to the morgue while the other boys go to school. There, a carelessly left bottle of Worchestershire sauce mixes with Kenny’s embalming fluid, turning him into a zombie. One bite from Kenny spreads the zombie plague, but a misdiagnosis of pinkeye allows the town to be ravaged by the undead. Chef and the boys will have to work together if they want to save South Park so that they can finish trick or treating.
There was a unique anticipation to South Park’s first Halloween special, because if their normal stories were fearless and unhinged, what could they do to possibly take it to the next level? Keeping it simple with a classic zombie story told well turned out to be a great way of starting a somewhat intermittent tradition of strong Halloween episodes. The parodies don't stop with zombies, as the episode includes Chef’s take on Michael Jackson’s "Thriller" and a great nod to Carrie at the end.
3 “Korn’s” Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery”
Season 3, Episode 10
Halloween is near, so Cartman’s mind is on Christmas and all the presents he’ll receive. Stan, Kyle, and Kenny think of a way to scare the 5th graders by bullying them, and their best idea is to dig up Kyle’s recently deceased grandmother. Outside of town, the band Korn is on their way to South Park for a big show, but ghost pirates cause the band’s tour van to veer off a cliff. When the ghost pirates (or pirate ghosts) cause the cancelation of the Halloween concert, Korn and the boys team up to solve both of their problems.
A highlight is Korn getting the Scooby-Doo treatment with a Hanna Barbera-inspired take on the band complete with a laugh track, stilted dialogue, and a bizarre talking animal sidekick named Niblet. The subplot about digging up Kyle’s grandmother yields a few good scenes explaining the specifics of Necrophilia, but the show belongs to Korn. The wrap-up, which is Korn re-enacting a beat-for-beat ending to any story involving Scoob and the gang, will be enjoyed by fans of the classic cartoon series.
2 “Hell on Earth 2006”
Season 10, Episode 9
Satan plans to throw the ultimate Sweet 16 party for himself on Halloween, and he chooses Los Angeles as the destination. It’ll have music, celebrities, and a Ferrari cake. Above ground, the boys see who dares to summon Biggie Smalls by saying his name three times in a mirror. Surprisingly, it turns out to be Butters, much to his regret. Since Butters summoned Biggie, he’s now responsible for getting the rapper to Satan’s party.
The regular group of kids takes a backseat in this episode, but it’s not noticeable with a bratty Satan taking the wheel. Pitch-black satire is on display when Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy’s quest to retrieve the Ferrari cake morphs into a murderous episode of The Three Stooges. Satan dressed as Britney Spears while he rubs elbows with unlikely celebrities is a fun visual gag, topped off with his tantrum about an underwhelming cake. A mixture of evil and silly, the hallmark of any great South Park episode.
1 “A Nightmare On FaceTime”
Season 16, Episode 12
Randy thinks he’s found the opportunity of a lifetime when he buys Blockbuster Video, not accepting everyone has moved to streaming. Stan doesn’t mind hanging out in the remnants of the rental until Randy says he needs the whole family to work the “busy” Halloween night, prohibiting Stan from Trick or Treating. The boys tape an IPad to a skateboard, so Stan can join them, but witnessing a crime puts the gang into the crosshairs of the Redbox Robbers. At Blockbuster, the isolation brought upon by having zero customers drives Randy insane, forcing him to see ghosts of rental history past.
There are obviously many strong Halloween episodes of South Park, but “A Nightmare on FaceTime” does the best job of mixing low-level trick-or-treat shenanigans with an elaborate horror movie parody. The gag of Stan being “in person” via IPad is commendable for taking a joke as far as humanly possible and remaining funny. Randy's stories excel when he’s in the midst of a doomed goal, and having him live out key moments of The Shining while his bored family members watch pushes the episode up slightly higher than the rest.
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